Reyna E. Montoya is an Ashoka Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, a Forbes: 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, and an ATHENA Young Professional recipient by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Reyna was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and migrated to Arizona in 2003, fleeing violence. She is a DACAmented social entrepreneur, community organizer, educator, non-profit executive, and dancer. She won multiple national & global fellowships, which enabled her to start Aliento. She was also a founding member of the first Teach For America DACA Advisory Board. Reyna holds bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Transborder Studies, a Dance minor from Arizona State University, an M.Ed in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University, and an executive education certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She has engaged in local, statewide, and national platforms to advance justice for immigrant communities. In 2013, she was the lead organizer who prevented an immigration bus of undocumented immigrants from deportation in Phoenix, AZ, for the first time in the nation’s history. The same year, with the community's help, she stopped her father’s deportation.

Under Reyna’s leadership, Aliento impacted over 70,000 people, educated close to 100,000 voters in the 2020 and 2022 elections, strategically organized a non-partisan coalition that led to the passage of Prop. 308, advancing education equity through gaining in-state tuition rates for DACA recipients in Arizona, and spearheaded the Aliento Votes Campaign to educate over 100,000 voters.

Her contributions have earned her recognition from local to global awards. She hopes to continue to share her talents and skills with the community to co-create healing spaces, political change, and leadership development for our immigrant youth and mixed-status families. In her volunteer time, she also serves as a member of the Arizona Alumni Association board of directors and sits on many advisory boards.